As efforts to find a COVID-19 vaccine continue around the world, scientists continue to uncover new facts about the virus and what could prevent further infections.
A new study has claimed that vitamin K found in some cheeses can fight the coronavirus. According to The Guardian's latest report, patients who have been admitted to intensive care with COVID-19 or those who died from the virus were discovered to have been suffering from vitamin K deficiency. The nutrient is often found in eggs, spinach, and hard blue cheeses.
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The results of the study gave the experts hope that a dietary change might be one of the game-changers that could turn the fight against COVID-19 around. After discovering a link between vitamin deficiency and the worst coronavirus outcomes, the researchers focused on the benefits of vitamin K. They studied patients who were admitted to the Canisius Wilhelmina hospital in the Dutch city of Nijmegen.
According to their study, the degradation of elastic fibers in the lungs is caused by blood clotting created by COVID-19. The study claimed that vitamin K could protect the lungs against the viral disease since it helps the production of proteins that regulate clotting when ingested through food and absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract.
Coronavirus can be fought with vitamin K found in cheese; Patients who died from the virus found with vitamin deficiency
Although the findings may provide promising results, Dr. Rob Janssen, a scientist working on the project, suggested that people can have a healthy intake of vitamin K except those who are on blood-thinning medications such as warfarin.
"We are in a terrible, horrible situation in the world. We do have an intervention which does not have any side effects, even less than a placebo. There is one major exception: people on anti-clotting medication. It is completely safe in other people," Janssen explained.
He added that even those who are not suffering from severe illnesses caused by the novel coronavirus should take vitamin K supplements since it can help strengthen their bones, blood vessels, and lungs. Janssen said that there are other vitamins similar to vitamin K; vitamin K1 and vitamin K2. K1 is found in broccoli, spinach, green vegetables, blueberries, and all types of vegetables and fruits.
Meanwhile K2 can be found in Dutch cheese as well as French cheese. Vitamin K2 is also particularly high in a Japanese delicacy of fermented soya beans called natto.
